Mysore Things to Do

These are beautifully maintained gardens with fountains and a light show at night (looked good from the photos, but we only saw it in the day and that was great too).

There's a hotel there, serving drinks, snacks, (yummy Chicken Tikka Toastie!) or a restaurant meal. Its called the Royal Orchid Hotel, and is very attractive and colonial, and worth a stop-over we thought, next time we're passing through! (Swammy is the Restaurant Manager, and a real Sweetie when you show an interest!).

Its about 1 hour out of Mysore and combines well with a visit to Tippu Sultan's Summer Palace (about 1/2 an hour out of Mysore).

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Srirangapatna is a small town that's located about 16km (10 miles) northeast of Mysore. The town lies on an island in the middle of the Kaveri River and takes its name from the celebrated Ranganathaswamy Temple which dominates the town. The temple was built by the Ganga dynasty rulers of the area in the 9th century before it was strengthened and improved upon architecturally some three centuries later, making it a medley of Hoysala and Vijayanagar styles of temple architecture. However, the town is most famous for being the capital of Tipu Sultan who fortified it during the 18th century. It was the scene of the last and decisive battle fought between Tipu Sultan and the British forces led by General Harris. This battle was the last engagement of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in May 1799 which saw Tipu killed within the fort. He is buried in a tomb complex, about 3km east of the fort, known as Gumbaz along with his father, Hyder Ali, and wife. Another site to visit, here, is his summer palace which is located along the road to Gumbaz. Buses depart from near the clock tower in Mysore so it's easy to get to. For more info, visit my Srirangapatna page below:

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Mysore Zoo is one of the most popular zoos in Southern India and is located about km southeast from Mysore Palace. It was established under royal patronage in 1892, making it one of the oldest zoos in the world. It's very big with lots of tigers including at least two white ones, elephants (African and Indian), bears, deer, lions, antelope, zebra, monkeys, the only gorilla in India, giraffe, birds, and a rhino which stared at me with just a ditch and no fence between it and me!

Open: Admission: Rs25 + Rs10 for camera.

This sandalwood oil factory is government run (by the Forestry Department) and is a good place to visit to see the process of how the oil is produced. I came here after visiting the silk factory and found this far more interesting. You're shown around by a guide who takes you around and tells you facts about how the oil is made (which I noted down) - 1kg of wood costs Rs6000 and 200kg is needed to produce 60 litres of oil which sells at Rs130,000 per litre! The wood is turned into sawdust which is then added to water and distilled. The oil is then separated from the water, refined, re-distilled and then ready. There's a shop out front where you can buy their products - basically a load of different toiletry items such as soap.

Open: 9am-1pm & 2-5pm. Admission: Rs20.

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This huge cathedral is located about 2km to the north of the city centre and was constructed in 1936 in a Neo Gothic style inspired by the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. It stands on the site of an earlier church that was built in 1843. It is dedicated to a Greek teenage girl who was martyred in the 4th century and her remains were found in a catacomb in Rome in 1802. In 1926, Thamboo Chetty, who was a secretary to the Maharaja of Mysore, Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar, obtained a relic of the saint from Peter Pisani, Apostolic Delegate of the East Indies. This relic was handed over to Father Cochet who approached the king to assist him in constructing a church in honour of St. Philomena.

The Government Silk Weaving Factory was built in the year 1932, by the Maharaja of Mysore. After I signed in, I was allowed to walk around the old warehouses and buildings by myself. There's plenty of old machines operating looms making white cloth with gold decoration plus spindles and a colouring area but I didn't see any silk worms. I was told they were elsewhere. Not overly interesting but makes a change from the normal palace, temples and museums that you see. There's, of course, a shop at the front selling all the items they produce here.

Open: 7-10.45am & 11.30am-3pm.

Legend has it that the demon Mahishasura, the king of the area that is currently Mysore, was killed by the Goddess Chamundeswari after a fierce battle. The Chamundi Hills got their name because of this and a temple of the goddess was built on the top. The goddess is also known as Mahishasura Mardini meaning she who slew Mahishasura. Outside the temple is this statue to Mahishasura.

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This temple is located on Chamundi Hill which itself is 2-3km southeast of the city centre. The original shrine is thought to have been built in the 12th century by Hoysala rulers while its 40m-high tower was probably built by the Vijayanagar rulers of the 17th century. In 1659, a flight of one thousand steps was built leading up to the 3000 foot summit of the hill. If you think you're fit, you can use these to get to the temple but I chose the more leisurely approach, coming via auto rickshaw. I then decided to take the steps down the hill in order to visit the huge Nandi Statue (see next tip).